A couple of months ago, one of our client teams found themselves facing a difficult decision. They realized that two functions they’d always kept separate really belonged under one leader. Keeping them separate created unnecessary complexity, causing extensive debates about overlapping resources, workflow and priorities. Combining them would eliminate confusion, increase speed and quality, and make the company more responsive to its customers.

Are you getting 100% of what you want from your business? The key to that – for any owner, any team, any company – is your ability to confront and make the difficult decisions we all face.

A friend of ours has backed himself into a bit of a corner. On the promise of extraordinary returns, he made an unconventional investment. The people he invested with have assured him that the investment turned out great, but more than a month later, he still hasn’t gotten a check.

We had a great moment in a recent client session. The team was working to define their Purpose, Cause or Passion. When you get that right, it gives everyone in the company a clear statement of “why we exist." At its best, this becomes the emotional heart of the business. It’s not something most of us are trained to think about, let alone put into words, so leadership teams often struggle to get it right.

We just met a Leadership Team that works hard to move their business forward as fast as possible. So when a new issue emerges, one of them takes the lead to tackle it right away, even though the issue may need input from other members of the team. The first thing the lead person does is try to get the right people in the room to discuss and solve it.